The aromatic, flavorful foods of India are a symphony of fresh vegetables and fruits, with high notes of such spices as turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron.

For economic and religious reasons, meats such as chicken and lamb — and less often beef or pork — are usually eaten only on special occasions or as a side dish, to accompany main dishes of lentils, beans, rice, vegetables, fruits and nuts, and freshly baked wheat breads.

More than a billion people call the subcontinent of India home. The predominant Hindu and Muslim religions prohibit the consumption of beef and pork, respectively, and the cost of meat keeps most Indians from making it a regular part of their diet. As a result, India’s largely vegetarian diet, redolent with fragrant spices, makes Indian food healthy and amazingly flavorful. Ginger,

garlic, onions, chilies, limes, coconuts, mangoes, raisins, peanuts and cashews, along with homemade yogurt and a homemade cheese, add nutritional value and taste to dishes throughout this enchanted land of silks and spices.

Each region has its own specialties, creating a beautiful patchwork of savory foods, that stretches from the snow-capped Himalayas to the bright blue Indian Ocean.

Throughout her several-thousand-year history, India has endured invasion, exploration and the exploitation of her rich spices. Approximately 75 spices grow there, including black pepper and cinnamon, so keenly sought after by Europeans.

At various times, India’s coveted spice trade was fought over and controlled by the Romans, Arabs, Mughals, Venetians, Portuguese, Dutch and English. India has adapted — and adopted — the foods of various occupying foreign nations, incorporating new foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, tea, coffee and chili peppers into its own unique and varied cuisine.

From the Arabs, Indians learned to cook in a clay oven called a tandoor, and Tandoori Chicken is a huge favorite worldwide. The Portuguese introduced tomatoes, chili peppers and peanuts from The New World. The British encouraged the planting and pleasures of tea, to which Indians add cream and sugar, as well as aromatic spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and coriander seed. Coffee, too, is grown and enjoyed in many parts of India.

And a delicious combination of ice-water-thinned yogurt, sugar and seasonal flavors, called a “lassi,” is drunk with, or after, many Indian meals. This refreshing beverage is a favorite of ours, after a spicy meal, so I’m including a recipe for Mango Lassi, which is very popular in India. We also like lassis made from homemade yogurt and various fresh foods such as mint, sweetened berries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and/or bananas. Enjoy the fruits you love, singly or in combination, to create your own cooling Indian lassis.

San Diego is a long way from Mumbai (Bombay in the old days). Yet throughout our county dozens of restaurants featuring Indian haute cuisine make an adventure in the exotic foods of India widely available.

My husband and I love the food at Hillcrest’s India Palace on University Avenue, where meals fit for a maharajah are served with style. For an extensive list of restaurants, Google “San Diego Indian food.” And if you consider cooking at home an adventure, as we do, you can prepare several wonderful Indian dishes for family and friends. We offer a few of our favorites here.

Spices from your kitchen and the supermarket, plus dried lentils, basmati (or Texmati brand) rice, plus vegetables and fruits from a produce outlet or farmers market, combine to create India’s exotic flavors in our recipes. If you’re fortunate enough to have an Indian or Asian grocery store nearby, you’ll find the ingredients you need there. If not, whatever you can’t purchase locally is available online.

In addition, if you’d like to try an Indian main dish first, without fussing with spices, stores such as Sprouts offer prepackaged sauces for such delicacies as Chicken Korma. We simmered the ready-made sauce with diced chicken breast and onions — it was quick and delicious.

Homemade yogurt and homemade Indian cheese are staples of Indian cuisine. The classic spice blend Garam Masala (which means “warming spices”), often featured in the cuisine of India, is available in the spice section of supermarkets such as Vons. Curry Powder, too, can be bought there.

But like most Indians, we grind our own Garam Masala and Curry Powder with a spice mill. If you love Indian food, it’s well worth the extra effort. A mortar and pestle will do the job, but I discovered — red-faced, breathless and grumpy at the end — that grinding whole spices this way is difficult and time-consuming. Invest in a spice mill from a kitchen shop.

Here are some of the most delicious dishes of India to start you on a personal adventure in cooking with India’s exotic, aromatic spices.

the essentials of indian cuisine

These ingredients are commonly used in Indian cooking, but you don’t need all of them to add an exotic spiciness to food.

Recipes for curries and masalas (meaning “spice blends”) vary widely from family to family and region to region. Despite India’s reputation for hot, spicy foods, it’s not necessary to make dishes excruciatingly hot to create the delicious, exotic and healthy foods common to Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.

In India, most spices are freshly ground from the whole spice (cinnamon bark, whole cloves, etc.) right before adding to food. Many of them are “tempered” or roasted for a few minutes in a hot skillet to enhance their flavors, but it’s not absolutely necessary to roast spices before using. They are wonderfully flavorful, even if you opt for pre-ground spices from the supermarket, and decide not to roast them.

Allspice: A tiny dried berry, very aromatic with the fragrance of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s best to buy fresh, whole allspice and grind just enough for the recipe you’re making. But ground allspice can be substituted.

Cardamom: The third most expensive spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla, black cardamom is used in curries, soups and stews, while sweeter green cardamom with its slightly fruity flavor dressed up South Asian desserts.

Chili peppers: Fresh and dried, they add a hot, fresh fruit flavor to Indian dishes. Substitute mild long Anaheim or New Mexico chilies for a medium-hot flavor, or choose jalapeño or serrano chilies for very hot flavor. Always wear rubber gloves when handling chilies, as they can be caustic and cause burning to mouths and eyes.

Chutney: There are numerous recipes for this condiment that enhances Indian foods. Chutneys combine certain fruits, nuts, herbs and spices.

Cilantro: Also known as “Chinese parsley,” cilantro is the leafy green part of the coriander plant, imparting its bold, distinctive flavor to Mexican dishes as well as Indian cuisine.

Cloves: Used sparingly in Indian cuisine due to its strong, sweet aroma, it is the tiny dried flower of an evergreen tree. It’s best if you grind it yourself from the whole bud as needed, but it’s also available ground.

Coriander seeds: A member of the carrot family, its sweet, slightly citrusy flavor is very popular in Indian cuisine. Best ground from fresh as needed, but if you substitute ground for fresh, use half as much as called for in the recipe.

Cucumber: Widely used in cooling sauces and dips, called “raita” (pronounced “ry-tah”).

Cumin seeds: A member of the parsley family, this is used whole or ground in Indian cooking to flavor oil for frying, or ground in popular Indian spice mixes or “masalas.”

Curry powder: Actually a British-inspired Indian spice blend, this is available in spice sections of supermarkets. However, Indian cooks grind their own curry powders fresh at home for cooking; these are by far superior in flavor, although the commercial powder can be used in cooking Indian dishes.

Garam masala: This literally means “hot” or “warming” spice. It’s available at large supermarkets but easily homemade by combining these ground spices: 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 2 teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus 1½ teaspoons each of coriander, cardamom and black pepper; and 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cloves and nutmeg. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. Yields a bit more than 1/4 cup garam masala.

Garlic: Fresh garlic is important in Indian cuisine, as is chopped onion.

Ginger: Fresh ginger root, grated just before use. Remaining ginger root may be stored, well-wrapped, in the freezer.

Lentils: Called “dal,” these provide nutrition and are the healthy basis of numerous Indian dishes. Lentils come in colors including green, yellow, red and brown, and are an important part of the daily diet.

Mango: A mainstay in Indian chutneys and yogurt lassi.

Mint: Chopped fresh mint is added to yogurt raita, cooling lassis (a fruity or spicy yogurt drink), and many other Indian dishes.

Saffron: The world’s most expensive spice: 75,000 flowers equal 1 pound of saffron, costing up to $5,000 per pound. Saffron adds flavor, fragrance and golden yellow color to India’s cuisine. Very tiny amounts are needed per dish, making saffron affordable, though costly, and there’s no substitute for it.

Tamarind: A pod that adds a touch of slightly bitter flavor, often available as a paste, but lemon or lime may be substituted if it’s not readily available.

Turmeric: Important in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric adds bright yellow color as well as flavor, and has recently been scientifically proved to enhance health and well-being.

Yogurt: Plain yogurt is vital in Northern and Southern Indian cuisine, as a base for cucumber raita (a mild sauce) and many other Indian dishes. Creamy, slightly tart and refreshingly cooling after spicy foods, yogurt also enhances digestion and is beneficial in other ways to health.

Terry Tucker Hinkley

Tandoori Chicken

Since my kitchen doesn’t have a tandoor oven, my electric oven suffices. Tandoori Chicken also turns out exceptionally delicious if you grill it outside. Tip: be sure to marinate the chicken at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, so the spice-laced yogurt imparts all its aromatic flavors to the chicken.

Place all the Masala ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, distributing spices evenly throughout yogurt. Add the chicken and mix well, making sure all sides of the chicken and the insides of the slashes are well coated with the Masala. Cover tightly and place in refrigerator to marinate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, remove chicken in marinade from refrigerator to a warm place where it can come to room temperature, for faster and more even cooking.

Spread 1 tablespoon of the oil evenly on a baking sheet. Place the chicken pieces on the oiled baking sheet and pour any excess Masala over them. Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.

With tongs, carefully turn the chicken and brush on remaining tablespoon of oil. Bake 15 minutes longer or until no pink remains in chicken when a knife is inserted.

Remove from the oven. Sprinkle the lime juice evenly over the chicken and serve with Saffron and Cashew Rice.

Saffron and Cashew Rice

The saffron adds some yellow color. If you’d like the color more pronounced, you can either stir in 1 teaspoon of turmeric just before serving, or a few drops of yellow or orange food coloring, to impart a spectacular golden glow to the rice.

In a small bowl, combine milk and turmeric and cover saffron threads with the mixture; leave to soak 10 minutes.

Wash the rice several times in a large bowl of cold water. Drain and add more cold water, until water runs clear, to strip starch off rice so it won’t be sticky.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and sauté the cashew nuts over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Remove nuts from skillet and set them aside.

Heat the same oil again, and sauté the onion, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and grated ginger over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Add the drained rice and toss for about 5 minutes until rice grains become opaque. Remove from heat and transfer rice mixture to a large saucepan.

Pour in the thinned coconut milk (or chicken stock) until the level is about 11/2 inches above the rice. Stir in the saffron and milk mixture and add salt.

Cook rice half-covered over medium-high heat until all the liquid is absorbed, about 8 to 10 minutes. If rice is still wet, cook until all the water evaporates.

Reduce heat to low, cover pan tightly and turn off heat. Allow rice to steam for 10 minutes with the cover on.

Decorate with the cashew nuts. Fluff rice and serve hot.

Lentil Vegetable Sambar

This recipe looks complicated but is not difficult. As with all Indian cooking, pre-measure the ingredients into small, medium and large bowls, so you can add them right when needed. It really simplifies cooking with India’s unique ingredients.

1/2 cup split yellow lentils

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne

2 onions chopped

1/2 cup carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1/4 cup tamarind water, made with 1 tablespoon pulp and 1/4 cup water (if you don’t have tamarind, a good substitute is the juice of one lime or lemon)

For Spice Masala:

1/2 cup grated dessicated coconut (or 1/4 cup coconut milk)

2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 dried red chili

2 cloves garlic

1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated

For tempering (frying spices to release their flavorful oils):

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 dried red chilies (less if you prefer less heat)

Make Spice Masala by pan-roasting the coconut and spices until lightly browned. Leave them to cook, then grind in a food processor, gradually adding about 3/4 cup water to make a fine paste.

Bring 11/4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and add the lentils, turmeric, chili powder and onions. Simmer about 30 minutes, or until lentils are well-cooked.

Add the carrots, lentils, tomatoes and potatoes and stir well. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the tamarind water (or lime or lemon juice) and salt to taste. Cover and cook another 5 minutes.

Stir in the Spice Masala. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to moderate and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Temper the mustard seeds in hot oil in a frying pan. As they begin to pop, add the whole dried chilies. Cook for one minute or so. Pour over the curry and serve hot.

Mango Lassi

This delicious drink is so refreshing, we keep a pitcher of it in our refrigerator. A small sip clears the palate after spicy bites of Indian food. Or serve it as a luscious and surprisingly satisfying dessert beverage.

2 cups yogurt

1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon and coriander (optional)

1 cup of ice water

Fruit of one mango, peel and white part discarded, and fruit roughly cut into cubes

1/2 cup sugar or honey, or to taste

Crushed ice to half-fill 4 glasses

Blend the yogurt, spices, ice water, fruit and sugar in food processor or blender. Pour into ice-filled glasses. Serve at once, or refrigerate to chill until needed.